My Favorite Verses - Vol V (Feb 17 to Jun 17)

03) So he planned his own crucifixion – He reconnoitered Jerusalem well
beforehand (Mark 11:11, Luke 9:52, Luke 10:1, Luke 19:5 & John 7:10), … he prearranged
the final meal he would take with his disciples (Matthew 21:1-6, Matthew
26:18, Mark 11:1-6, Mark 14:12-16, Luke 19:29-32 & Luke 22:10-13), … he set his
plan in motion by aggressively overturning the money-changing tables in the
Temple and then making a hasty exit (Matthew 21:17, Mark 11:19 & Luke 21:37),
… he purposefully timed his grand entrance into Jerusalem to coincide with the
Festival of Booths (Matthew 21:8-9, Mark 11:7-10, Luke 19:35-38 & John 12:12-13),
… he gave himself up knowingly in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:52-
53, Mark 14:47-49, Luke 22:50-51 & John 18:11a), … he refused to defend himself
before both the Sanhedrin and the Romans (Matthew 27:12-14, Mark 14:61, Luke
23:7-12), … and then he quoted Psalm 22:1 from the cross itself (Matthew 27:46 &
Mark 15:34) – a Psalm well known by many at the time, and a Psalm that clearly
showed that Jesus had purposefully set himself up for his final selfless sacrifice
(Matthew 26:54, Luke 4:21, Luke 24:44, Psalm 22:6-8, Psalm 22:14-16, Psalm 22:18,
Psalm 22:24).
04) And as if that isn‟t all evidence enough, Jesus told his disciples may times
exactly what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem; told them many times that
he had indeed already planned his own crucifixion (Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22,
Matthew 20:18-19, Matthew 20:22, Matthew 23:34-36, Matthew 26:2, Matthew 26:6-12,
Matthew 26:21, Matthew 26:24, Matthew 26:32, Matthew 26:45-46, Matthew 26:54-56,
Matthew 28:6, Mark 8:31-32, Mark 9:31-32, Mark 10:33-34, Mark 14:21, Mark 14:28,
Luke 9:22, Luke 9:44, Luke 11:30, Luke 11:49-51, Luke 13:33, Luke 18:31-33, Luke
22:15, John 2:21-22, John 3:14, John 6:51, John 7:33, John 8:21, John 8:28, John
10:11+15, John 10:17-18, John 12:8, John 12:23-25, John 12:27, John 12:32-33, John
13:18, John 14:30, John 16:7, John 16:16 & John 18:11b) …
05) And finally – and by far most importantly, it is crucial to remember that
Jesus' primary intention (if not his sole intention) during his entire ministry was to
reawaken others to the “perfect Love” of God within them (Matthew 5:40-48 +
John 14:20) by living a life “of the Father” – namely, a life that inspired others to
“take up their cross” of self-sacrificial service and then “follow” him by
enlivening the same (Matthew 16:24 et al) … And this is precisely what he did on
Golgotha – he exemplified The Way of selfless Love in the plainest way
possible; by allowing himself to get nailed to a cross; and thereby providing an
incredibly clear example of the willingly self-sacrificial Love of which he had
been exhorting for the three years beforehand.
*NOTE that the book of Revelation does not speak either of or for Jesus
Christ, but rather of another “Jesus” entirely -- a “Jesus” whose ideas and
attitudes actually directly contradict the “perfect Love” of The Way professed
by the Jesus of whom we read in the Gospels.
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